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So we’re headed to Arizona and New Mexico next week for our first road trip with baby. We’re planning on seeing the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Santa Fe and Taos – and maybe Albuquerque. Does anyone have any suggestions for places we should see or places we should stay?
Father’s Day we went to Armida (where we’re wine club members) to pick up a “shipment” we’d missed because it was ready right when we were having the baby. Ian did a little wine tasting (hey – we were there – why not?) and then we headed out on to their fabulous deck to have a picnic. (We still heartily recommend their Maple Vineyard Zinfandel – YUMMY – and their Reserve “Poizin” – delicious!) They have a fantastic view out over vineyards and out to the rolling hills/mountains. The deck is shaded with 2 huge trees and umbrellas and has plenty of seating and tables – making it the perfect shady spot for a picnic. Ian bought a glass of wine to enjoy over lunch. The wine was good, but we would recommend just purchasing a bottle – the glass alone was $10 and the bottle is only $30. We enjoyed the view while we munched on goodies.
After lunch we headed to Everett Ridge Winery. It’s just around the corner from Armida, making it convenient to visit on the same trip. Everett Ridge offers 2 tasting menus – one at $5 for their regular wine and one at $15 for their reserves. Both fees are refunded if you buy a bottle (making the $18 Riesling we bought only an additional $3 and a no-brainer!) They have a beautiful outdoor patio with fabulous views and a few shaded tables. They will also serve you the tastings out on the patio – a lovely way to spend some time soaking up the views and relaxing in wine country!
We hadn’t been to Everett Ridge in a long time, but we were pleasantly surprised by their wines. We’re by no means experts, but here’s our thoughts on the wines we tasted:
Everett Ridge Winery
Sauvignon – fruity, $18
Riesling – light and fruity – seemed like a great summer wine, $18
Rose – hint of strawberry, light, clean but unspectacular – mind you, we’re not usually big fans of roses.
Merlot – smoky, complex
Diablita – a mix of different wines – we’d pass!
Syrah – spicy
Old vine Zinfandel – berry flavors, good but not Armida…
Cabernet – $40 but very nice
Port – finish not as clean as we’d like, but overall a very nice way to end
The sign in front of Ca'Bianca.
To celebrate our tenth anniversary, we had dinner at Ca’Bianca again last night. It’s one of our favorite restaurants, with great Italian food and attentive service. The restaurant is in a historic home that was built in 1876. It has a beautiful interior with crystal chandeliers, wall murals and fireplaces. There is also a sunroom which gives you a feeling of the outdoors but stays warm on cool nights. But the highlight for us, especially on a warm night, is sitting outside on their wide wooden porch and dining overlooking their wonderful garden. (There are no heat lamps).
Trying out the Phil & Teds at home
When we started shopping for baby equipment one of the first things we knew we’d need was a travel cot. Travel is a big part of our lives and we wanted to be able to continue that with our daughter. We looked at 2 travel cots – the Phil & Teds and the Baby Bjorn. The Phil & Teds requires assembly – something we weren’t too thrilled about facing at the end of a long day of traveling. The Baby Bjorn is SUPER easy to assemble – it basically just springs open and is ready to use. BUT – it’s a lot heavier at 11lbs. vs. the 6 lb Phil & Teds. So, we chose the Phil & Teds and hoped that the set-up wouldn’t drive us crazy.
The cot comes apart into pieces like a tent and fits into a bag that has a shoulder strap for carrying. It packed easily into our large suitcase and is also small enough to fit into our big travel backpacks. Before we left we practiced putting it together. It took us more than 20 minutes and required quite a bit of strength – we weren’t impressed and left it assembled for a while, dreading taking it back apart again. On this first trip with it we had to set it up and take it apart 4 times. Each time it was faster and easier. By the end of the trip Ian was down to under 5 minutes – making us very happy we chose the lighter weight over ease of use.
The matress is a mostly self-inflating air matress that actually fits into a pocket in the bottom of the cot. The baby actually lies on the nylon bottom of the cot and you can’t use a sheet. Although this would seem uncomfortable, our daughter slept well and seemed happy to be put down in it while awake, too. It also makes for VERY easy clean-up!
The cot has a side flap that can zipper open so you don’t have to lean over to pick up your child. We didn’t use it, but we can imagine it coming in handy with an older, heavier child – particularly since the cot is big enough to be used by children up to 3 years of age. You can also secure it to the ground with stakes and it comes with a zippered top flap with UV protection so that you could use the cot on the beach for example.
Overall, we were very happy with our Phil & Teds Traveller and are very happy to have such a light, easy to use, safe bed for our daughter away from home!
